The Parish of St Leonard, Hythe

Open and welcoming to all in God's name

The Ossuary (or "the crypt") at St Leonard's church

The Ossuary will open for the summer season on May 1st 2019. Visiting hours are 11am-1pm and 2-4pm on Monday to Saturday and 2-4pm on Sundays. Occasionally special arrangements to visit may be possible for groups or researchers able to commit to a timed visit. To enquire further please telephone Mr Hughes on 01303 264470.

St
Leonard’s Church has the largest and best-preserved collection of
ancient human skulls and bones in Britain. The collection consists of
shelves in four arched bays that contain 1,022 skulls in total, and a
single stack of bones and skulls measuring 7.5m in length, 1.8m in
width and just over 1.8m in height. The stack of bones was
reassembled on its brick base in 1910.

Size of the collection

Past historians
indicated that the collection represents the remains of some 4,000
people, but it is impossible to verify the number of bones in the
stack. Our latest estimate is a maximum number of 1,200 skulls in the
crypt and the total number of
individuals represented as 2,000.

Earliest
written and pictorial evidence

The
earliest references to the collection are 1678 by Samuel Jeake, then
Town Clerk of Rye, and 1679 by Rev Brome, Chaplain to the Cinque
Ports, both of whom described ‘an orderly pile of dead men’s
bones’ in the ‘charnel house’ on the north side of the church.
The earliest known drawings are dated 1787 depicting piles of skulls
and bones inside the crypt’s entrance door, and 1820 showing the
south-west bay and stack similar to its present appearance. Postcards
in the early 1900s with photographs of the crypt show the layout much
the same as it is today.

The
crypt as a charnel house

The
crypt has been referred to as ‘the bonehouse’ and ‘the
ossuary’. One suggestion is that it had been a charnel house or
chapel, to house de-fleshed, separate bones and that St Leonard’s
is one of a number of English medieval charnel chapels underneath
churches, as the Hythe crypt resembles the attributes of other such
chapels.

Origins
of the collection

There have been many
theories over the years as to who the people were and how their
remains came to be resting in the crypt. These include Danish pirates
slain in a battle (from a footnote on the 1787 drawing mentioned
above); men who fell in the 1066 Battle of Hastings (handwritten
footnote on a 1860s illustration); and Anglo-Saxons killed in battle.
Another suggestion refers to the people being victims of the Black
Death, but such bodies were usually hastily disposed of in quicklime.

However, these theories
have been rejected by an osteologists’ project from 2009 to 2012
involving analysis of all the skulls on the shelves, which found a
higher proportion of females than males, and
nearly 10% of sub-adults (juveniles).

Our conclusion now is
that they were Hythe residents who died over a long period and had
been buried in the churchyard (evidenced by the deposits of soil
within the skulls), and that the earliest of the remains were dug up
in the 13th century when the church was extended eastwards over their
previous graves. However, this number of individuals is high for
‘Hythe only’ residents, and the collection probably includes
bones from four graveyards in the Hythe area that are said to have
fallen out of use and closed by 1500.

No
accurate evidence for the date of death of the people has been
determined, and estimates range from 12th to 15th centuries, though
more likely to be 13th century if it coincides with the building of
the chancel.

Origins
of the people

There is no clear
evidence of where the people originated. Studies, of which the
earliest was in 1908, have been undertaken by measuring up to 30
different dimensions of each of a group of skulls (a technique known
as craniometry). The 1908 study, based on just the ratio of the
maximum breadth of a skull to its maximum length, indicated a number
were of Italian descent. This could have been a possible link with
the Romans in view of the nearby Roman port at Lympne (Portus
Lemanis), or with traders visiting Hythe when
it was an important medieval trading port.

The
more detailed studies in the past five years indicated that some
people could have been of Scandinavian descent, and one or two skulls
appear to show African origins. It is hoped that more definitive
evidence of origin can be obtained by a possible future isotope
analysis study.

Evidence
of injury and disease

Such a large collection
can provide some interesting knowledge about the lifestyle of the
people concerned through detailed analysis.

A small number of
skulls indicate injury through sharp blows. One in the south-west bay
with a hole right through it (see photograph to the left) has
been suggested to be either a result of trepanning (surgical drilling
through the skull), or caused by a sharp object, such as a dagger,
because of the radiating fractures inside the skull.

Another skull in the
south-west bay shows a severe dent caused by a blunt object such as a
stone, whilst a skull in the north-east bay indicates injury from a
slicing blow, probably by a sword at the back of the head, which was
not immediately fatal because of evidence of healing.

A few bones show
breakages during the individual’s lifetime and partial healing,
whilst others have evidence of arthritis or bone diseases.

One significant feature
of the skulls is the proportion showing evidence of cribra
orbitalia, which was a symptom of chronic
iron deficiency anaemia related to poor diet and/or infections. The
evidence for this comes from pin-prick holes in the bone surface
around the eye sockets. 22% of the skulls appear to be affected by
this, with a higher proportion among the skulls of young people. The
overall proportion in Hythe is much higher than the
10% recorded for English medieval sites. Another indicator of the
disease could be malaria, which occurs in marshy or swampy areas.

The standard of teeth
still present in the skulls varies, with many of the back molars worn
down through constantly eating rough food. A number indicate
abscesses and about 10% show pre-death loss
of at least one tooth, pointing to lack of dental care/treatment.
However, holes in teeth (which would now be treated by fillings) are
non-existent, pointing to a sugar-free diet. A lower jaw (in one of
the cabinets) shows teeth on either side sloping outwards due to
wear. This could indicate that the individual used his/her teeth for
a particular purpose, possibly related to occupation.

Recent
and current analysis and study

Several studies have
taken place since 2008 – by staff and post graduate students of
Bournemouth University, by St Leonard’s Osteological Research Group
(StLORG), an independent group of forensic scientists and
osteologists, and since
2015 by the University of Kent Biological Anthropology lecturer and
final-year degree students.

StLORG members
completed a three-year project to catalogue and profile all 1,022
skulls on the shelves, to
identify the sex and age at death of each person, as well as
analysing distinctive features on the skull from injury or disease.

The
Kent University projects have focused on measurements of skulls to
determine origin, and a study of skulls that show evidence of cribra
orbitalia.

Identifying
children and young people

New
techniques have also identified a larger number of children and young
people (termed as ‘sub-adults’ in forensic studies) than was
previously recognised. The age of children and young people can be
determined from the eruption and development of teeth. Two very small
skulls in the south-west bay, which were argued for many years as
being those of dwarfs, have been confirmed by a forensic odontologist
(teeth expert) as being children aged four and six-seven years
respectively, based on their teeth development.

Care
and Conservation

All these studies and
activities are undertaken with care and respect for the skulls and
bones and follow Church of England and English Heritage guidelines
for handling human remains. Gloves are worn when handling any skull
or bone in the collection. ‘Do not touch’ signs displayed explain
the potential harm that hands touching skulls or bones can cause
through transfer of sweat or grease.

We
are now looking at how best we can preserve the collection for the
future based on current conservation practice, for which our small
charge for visitors will help in funding practical work.

Media
coverage

The
skulls and bones have been the subject of increased media coverage
since 2010. Various TV companies have included short items in
historical, antiques, Great British Railway
Journeys (with Michael Portillo) and regional
news programmes, the most recent being BBC One South
East Today in summer 2017. National and local
press coverage has highlighted St Leonard’s Church crypt as a place
to visit.

Future
study

Our aim is to develop
our working relationship with the University of Kent biological
anthropology staff and students on further studies to advance our
knowledge about the origin of the people, and their health and
lifestyle.

We
shall continue to welcome staff and students from other academic
institutions to undertake projects which will benefit their studies
and enhance our visitor experience.